


Headcanons For This Timeline

by Friendlylycanthrope



Series: Let's Talk About It [30]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Background - Freeform, Gen, No Action, No Dialogue, Not actual plot, just stuff I've been meaning to post
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:28:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26292652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Friendlylycanthrope/pseuds/Friendlylycanthrope
Summary: Since I haven't posted in a while, I thought I would just toss out all these multitudinous head canons I have about things in She-Ra and specifically relating to this series.
Series: Let's Talk About It [30]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1714624
Kudos: 22





	Headcanons For This Timeline

**This timeline for my works starts out as canon compliant, goes through canon divergent, then is what I like to call “canon? I don’t know her.”**

**It is canon divergent starting in season two. More or less the same, but Hordak doesn’t give two shits about Shadow Weaver in prison. If you ask me, that is where everything went wrong. Glimmer and Adora still end the season by learning about Bow’s dads the same way, but Catra is just chilling in the Horde without worrying about being abandoned by Shadow Weaver and banished by Hordak. It will also include another major detail that is canon divergent: Shadow Weaver was messing with Adora’s memories while she was in the horde. Anything relating to running away, defecting, or being in love with Catra was edited to make her more loyal. Discovering this fact was not obvious to either Catra or Adora, but learning the truth is what starts them on the path to forgiveness and working together again. Based on those two things, it created a whole new universe that is this series. It is Glimmer/Catra/Adora in a poly relationship, and Angella lives because the portal event also went very differently based on the timeline of events. Also I started this way back before we knew that Micah was alive, so this AU still takes place in the understanding that he was killed because I don’t know how to work him into the story and dynamic later on. It’ll probably stay that way unless I have a stroke of genius in a prophetic dream.**

  
  
  


**Growing up in the Horde**

  * Cadets start out life in a nursery, told that their family was destroyed by the princesses and the horde saved them (actually false, obviously. The horde is in the business of creating orphans, and only takes those 4 y or younger). 
  * About 80 percent of the horde is human. Roughly 20 percent remaining is lizard folk, like Rogelio. There is less than one percent which is simply "other" which includes species that nobody knows anything about. This includes Octavia, Scorpia, and Catra. They don't know what they are themselves, they're simply Other. 
  * They may not have birthdays, but they had DOB (date of birth) to recognize their age. It was not celebrated, but on their DOB, they are issued a new uniform. This was more important when they were growing, and became less important as they grew up. More importantly, they are given a full day of rigorous examinations in testing and exercises to study their growth, a dreaded and exhausting experience. 
  * Before training begins, they begin early education. They are able to mingle with other kids their age, and are given free range to roam about certain non-restricted areas of the FZ. (The illusion of freedom)
  * Soon they are assigned their Squad and Unit, and training begins. 
  * A squad is five cadets. Each squad is educated and guided by a sergeant. The sergeant is in charge of ten squads. Ten squads makes a Unit. 
  * Adora and Catra were a squad with the other three horde kids, Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio. They were primarily raised by Sergeant Cobalt, the blue pointy guy. However in a rare case, Shadow Weaver also stepped in for much of their rearing when she chose Adora to be her ward. In this way, Shadow Weaver was present for and educated the whole squad, having a certain familiarity with the whole squad. Everybody in the unit is scared of her.
  * Once prepared for active duty, one cadet in each Unit will become Force Captain, and report to the sergeant. The Force Captain carries out the orders of their sergeant by commanding their Unit when in active duty. If a Force Captain proves themselves enough, they may even be promoted to higher ranks. Once active, the whole Unit may move around the ranks and split up. 
  * Each Unit eats and sleeps together, squads train and attend classes together. Classes include reading and writing, vehicles, first aid, history, math, and other useful skills.
  * If a cadet does especially well in any of their classes, they may be pulled from the squad and placed into an accelerated course which will land them a career outside of combat. They may become mechanics, medics, or teachers. Those who flunk their classes are threatened with becoming low level janitors, in charge of cooking and cleaning for the whole of the Fright Zone. Both of these are rare however, and most cadets stay on the Combat track. Kyle was close to flunking a few times. 
  * Teachers are all still sergeants, and swap around units for education. For example, Sergeant Cobalt taught math to all the units in addition to teaching and being Drill Sergeant for his Unit. 
  * In the case of Adora and later on Catra, Shadow Weaver would personalize extra challenging curriculum for them in class and training, which ended up being utilized for their unit for consistency. She gave them personalized tests in order to oversee their growth. The others in the unit also see Shadow Weaver as their CO similar to Cobalt, but she was not as invested in their training as she was with Adora. 
  * In terms of combat, it starts out simple: daily fitness exercises. This would increase in difficulty as years went on. They would start every morning with running laps and doing strength exercises to strengthen their body before the real training begins. 
  * At age 10: combat training. At age 15: Live weapons training. At age 16: vehicle operation. All while keeping up with their classes and fitness regimen. Combat training can include training against other officers, each other in their unit, dummies, holograms, all while using their hands, prop weapons, melee weapons such as staffs, or more. 
  * In addition to training and classes, there are also chores. Once a day, on rotation. This could mean cleaning the mess hall, the kitchens, the latrines, or the barracks. 
  * They do get time off on weekends. This can be spent doing optional activities with a few options. 
  * Option one: extra week work (extra cleaning (usually used as punishment), extra training, extra studying etc.) 
  * Option two: they could choose to do volunteer hours at options such as the nursery, the infirmary, the kitchen, or mechanical bays. Again, cadets that show an affinity to this may be removed from their Combat Unit and put on a track to do this as an alternative career. 
  * Option three: Extracurriculars. There are a number of recreational sports taught at the Fright Zone, and every cadet is taught the basics in their training. However if they want to pursue it as a hobby sport, they are free to on weekends. This can include swimming, martial arts, acrobatics, even football and soccer. Cadets can choose up to two activities. Everyone who is in the same Unit is on the same team, and once annually compete for glory against other Units of the same league. Again, these are all supervised by the various sergeants. Sergeant Cobalt also taught Wrestling. Adora did martial arts and boxing. Catra did Acrobatics. Lonnie did swimming. Rogelio also did boxing. Kyle didn’t do any recreational sports. Further, even if you don’t join a team sport a cadet can always revisit the hologram training room for extra lessons for further practice. Catra revisited one to take a crash course in Dance for princess prom, a class which is probably the lowest attendance in the Fright Zone but was apparently still useful. 
  * Option four: just rest. This is something that is always an option, but is seen as lazy, and cadets who take too much rest time will not excel in their course as much as their classmates. 
  * So, the life of cadets is mainly: training, education, chores, exercise, and free time on weekends. Every once in a while, they would get some really exciting lessons, like parachute diving. The whole time, they are taught the (lies) that they are still freer than the average Etherian outside of the FZ, that they have the choice to do as they please and join Hordak’s army. It gives the appearance of freedom under the guise that they have free time, can either excel or fail, can learn whatever they like. So, they believe what they are fed and for the main part willingly choose to stay with the institution that raised and taught them, protecting them from the evil princesses. 
  * They are further given more freedom in that Dating life is allowed (with restrictions) in the Fright Zone. 
  * Cadets went through puberty, and so obviously their education included health courses on body changes, attraction, and certain risks. They know all about the birds and the bees.
  * A cadet may try to flirt with someone in their squad by showing off in training to get the most bots or by taking the same extracurriculars. They may ask a cadet out, and begin a dating life. This would include teaming up together in simulations for a stronger cohesive team, hand holding, kissing, snuggling, and sharing food. For dates, they would attend each other’s competitions, watch the sunset on the roof, or study together. One had to get creative, when the schedule was military efficient and the food was different colors of pasty bars. 
  * For most Units, cadets would see the other four in their squad like siblings, and only date others in their same Unit. Dating outside their own unit would be virtually impossible, since they only ever interact with their own unit. However, exceptions apply and sometimes relationships can come from the same Squad. 
  * The restriction was in ‘fraternizing’-- a sterile term that is synonymous with sex. If they were discovered to be fraternizing, both cadets would get transferred to entirely different units, and would leave a mark on their record to tarnish their career, preventing them from moving up the ranks. If any pregnancy resulted from a relationship, the mother would carry the child to term, have the child taken away and put in the nursery with no explanation of where they came from just like the others. Both parents would be put to Maintenance as punishment, the same people who flunk their classes and are stuck doing all the cooking and cleaning.
  * Same sex relationships were just as normal as hetero. Nobody thought anything of it. 
  * Trans cadets were also common. Hordak understands their situation because he too struggles with a body that he despises and tries to alter, all in order to please his own CO (even though nobody else knows this.) So, he very easily created a hormone supplement available to cadets that request it. He is evil and impatient, but it’s whatever. He holds some resentment towards those who take it simply in that their problem is easier to fix than his own. 
  * Adora and Catra never focused on dating, they were too focused on their careers, especially Adora. She had more than one cadet in the unit ask her out, but her squad knew better. She never knew if Catra pursued romance. They both still went through quiet crushes, but in the end focused on their career. 
  * In terms of day to day life of the average cadet: The food is available in brown, gray, black, blue, and green. They are a variety of flavors, none of which are naturally occuring. It is all served in bar form, or turned to a pasty mush for infants. They also have unlimited access to tap water, and are given vitamin supplements to help them grow and fight all the abundant pollution of the Fright Zone. 
  * The showers and all other personal grooming is all public with their own Squad. Similar to a gym locker room. Since they grew up together, there is no awkward modesty or shyness around nudity. Sure, they’ll all shower side by side, but other than that its not like it comes up much. The horde believes that this casualness, if instilled at a young age, will deter lustful thoughts by making it normal, and decrease fraternizing. AS the cadets become teens, they may cover up their loins a bit more, but other than that their body is just a body. 
  * Every once in a blue moon, an active duty group of soldiers would seize supplies from a Princess trade route or supply chain during a raid, it may have such things as fruit or bread. Only the soldiers who were active in its attainment would get to relish in these fine luxuries. 
  * The cadets are taught that the princesses hoard all the wealth and food and supplies, leaving their people to suffer, and that the horde aims to tear down princess tyrants. 
  * The horde is all taught that the princesses all used to wage wars on each other for even more power, even more wealth and food, and that the common people would always suffer at their expense. While princesses killed thousands in battles with their armies to greedily obtain more for themselves, their people suffered, helpless at the whim of those who wielded terrible destructive power from their runestones. Then Hordak arose, and tried to stop the princesses from fighting and save the common people, but the princesses all saw him as a threat and banded together to end his reign. As far as the horde knows, Hordak is trying to liberate Etheria from evil princesses, while they all work together to destroy his ideas of freedom and the redistribution of wealth. Which as we all know, is all lies. He’s a violent colonizer, but the soldiers don’t see it that way. After all, how could they know when they never got to live in Etheria, when they are safe within the walls of the Fright Zone, fed and cared for?
  * Some cadets and soldiers of course know exactly what they are doing. Some don’t care. Some are too scared to speak out. The punishment in the Fright Zone has always been severe. Catra knew from early on that the horde was evil, because she read Shadow Weaver like a book. Adora figured it out too a few times, but then Shadow Weaver would alter her memories and make her forget such wild conclusions, keeping her loyal and driving a wedge between Catra and Adora. 



  
  


**Bright Moon Head canons**

  * Bow has known that he was a trans boy ever since he was old enough to want to leave home. His whole family was cool with it, but still pressured him into being a scholar. 
  * All his siblings have weapon names after their dad lance. Others include Saber, Dagger, Dart, Axe, Mace, Sickle, Halberd, Pike, Javelin, and yet they were all somehow SHOCKED when he not only became a soldier but a master archer. The rest of the siblings are named by George, and are REASONABLE things, like Abacus, Bifocals, and Quill. And yes, all of them are all historians. 
  * While Bow kept his home life a secret from Glimmer and Adora, Angella always knew. She respected his wishes to keep it a secret from the others till he was ready, and has spoken to his dads a few times. After they all find out about the truth, Angella continues to keep contact with them for Bow updates, one parent to another, and they have a good friends relationship. They all just adore Bow. 
  * The way that Bow and Glimmer met was that Bow wanted to join the rebellion and, being like seven and having absolutely no idea how things worked, just figured “hm Bright Moon is the capital of the rebellion I guess I’ll just head over there and sign up” and he did. He just went right up to the fucking royal castle and walked right in and everyone was like “okay well this child is clearly no threat right??” and then he met Glimmer and it was BFFs at first sight. 
  * They met only a about three or so years after Micah had died. Bow never knew him. And back then, the wounds were still fresh from his absence. His presence brought light into Glimmer’s life again. He helped Angella find purpose again. 
  * Previously, Glimmer was educated via private tutors, and never really interacted much with other kids her age. Sometimes there would be diplomacy stuff between the princess’s parents that would have her politely waving at the other princesses that would later join the alliance, but having a deadly decades long war going on over the planet kind of prevented chill hang out sessions or play dates. There was no need to see each other unless it was their parents doing boring official stuff. 
  * So she was!!! SO excited!! When Bow just wandered in and found her! 
  * Angella later found them playing together and was like “Wha-where is my staff? Where did he come from? Seriously guys? You know what, I’ll allow it” cause the kid needs to be properly socialized after all. 
  * Privately, she spoke with young tiny Bow about his intentions and ambitions, and gently pressed him for details about where he came from. Bow thought hey she’s the Queen, I’m her subject, I have no CHOICE but to answer honestly. So he told her about running off from his dads and begged her not to tell them about him joining the rebellion. She kept his promise. After all, as Queen, it was her job to make sure that all her citizens were happy and safe, and she would do so for him
  * She reached out to Bow’s dads pretty much the first day to let them know he was safe since he kind of ran away a little bit, but kept the rebellion stuff to a minimum because of her promise to Bow to keep him safe. As far as Bow’s dads knew, he was just there for education purposes. 
  * Glimmer was finally a happier child when she made friends with Bow, no longer crushed by boredom and loneliness. And, Bow kept her out of trouble a lot more than she would be on her own, he was the voice of reason and caution. 
  * They pretty much always kept around the castle grounds, and the shenanigans that they got into made Renee’s job so much harder all the time. But hey, she is here to protect the royal family at the cost of her own life. She was just a teen when she started the job, protecting Princess Angella, and now? This princess was so much more work. 
  * Glimmer was the flower girl and Bow was the ring bearer in Renee’s wedding to Ingrid. They were like eight. Angella officiated. It was a great day. 
  * Bow didn’t start really spending the night in Bright Moon until they were older, around twelve. He would always return from his private schooling back to the library in the whispering woods at the end of the day, until he was old enough to gain more freedom. He would have the most fun and exciting adventures in Sleepovers with Glimmer. Then he came up with Boarding school and Angella gave him a room. She expressed to him privately, once again, that he couldn’t keep lying forever, and that his fathers would love him no matter what. She always encouraged him to tell the truth, a bit uncomfortable being complicit in him living a lie but always willing to help a child in need. 
  * From then on, Glimmer and Bow were basically unstoppable. Living together only made them more powerful and as they got older their hijinks only got more elaborate. By their teen years, they started to get a little further from the castle grounds with every expedition. It wasn’t long until it turned into covert missions for the rebellion, all of which Angella would NOT approve of and make sure to lecture them both about. 
  * First she would lecture them together a bit loudly together. Then send them to their rooms Then she would talk to Glimmer more calmly, which usually escalated into fighting. She would emphasize that she could not keep putting herself, the heir of the throne, or Bow, a non-magical civilian, in danger. Then she would quietly talk to Bow alone. She would again point out that she had to make sure to keep him safe, for his sake and his fathers. What would she tell them if he got hurt, or worse? And Bow would be all guilty about it even if he held onto his beliefs in the rebellion. 
  * When they were about fifteen, Glimmer started wondering if she had feelings for Bow romantically. They kissed once, it was awkward for both of them. But eventually they both realized that they only ever saw each other as being like siblings. What she felt wasn’t romantic, but it was love. What she felt was a sense of comfort at meeting another adventurous soul like hers. And they do love each other, so much. Just not in a relationship way. In some ways, Glimmer will always love Bow more than any of her romantic loves. They just have an unbreakable bond, a foundation built on growing up together. That doesn’t make Bow more special or important than her romantic relationships. It’s just a different kind of love.
  * Glimmer is Homoromantic and bisexual. Bow is trans and bisexual and a virgin.
  * When Adora came into the picture, Glimmer had a crush VERY quickly. Big strong lady pretty. 
  * Adora bonded with Bow pretty quickly because of his naturally caring nature, it was easy for him to guide Adora through life outside of the Fright Zone. They were also able to bond over being the New In Town kid (John Mulaney joke?)
  * Angella considers Adora to be an adopted daughter of the castle, similar to Bow. Perhaps a bit stronger with Adora though, since she had nothing to own to her name and nowhere else to go, so she needed extra attention to make sure she was okay. The main hurdle with her was her anxiety. She had a doctor observe Adora from the sides for a day without her knowledge, knowing it would only cause her more anxiety, and the doctor confirmed that Adora suffered from some sort of stress disorder. 
  * Adora sometimes had panic attacks, which had _NEVER_ happened to her before she left the horde. Angella read books on parenting troubled kids that she got from Renee, and learned that stress sometimes doesn’t present itself outwardly until someone is away from the source of their stress, as a survival mechanism. Most of Adora’s stress was around Shadow Weaver and anxiety about being without Catra and what would happen between them. 
  * As Glimmer and Adora became better friends (very quickly) Glimmer learned some good ways to help Adora with her anxiety. Her presence nearby soon became enough to soothe Adora’s nerves at times. 
  * When Adora got to Bright Moon, she didn’t own literally anything but the clothes on her back. She was too afraid to ask for anything, feeling both out of place amongst fancy royal types that was NOT the military efficient clothing she was used to, and also nervous to ask any favors since she was a Horde soldier who nobody trusted. Eventually Glimmer woke Adora up and realized she was sleeping in her clothes and was like “do you not?? Have pajamas??” And Adora was like “Well I don’t know what that is. So no?” And then Glimmer was like ah OF COURSE she doesn’t own anything, what was I thinking! So they take Adora to look at new clothes and she’s mainly uncomfortable. Her main wardrobe is mainly gym clothes that say “Bright Moon guard” in athletic print that Renee gave her once she started warming up to Adora. Some sweats, shorts, sweatshirts, t shirts, all kinds of stuff. Her wardrobe is still mainly athletic clothes, for practicality (always ready to fuckin GO) even now that she has been there for years and can wear other stuff. She owns exactly one (1) formal wear and it is her princess prom dress. Most people would give her a judging look for always wearing the same thing to every formal event but Adorais clueless and is just like “Formal. Nailed it.”
  * Adora was always in love with Catra. She knew this, but never thought she could act on it. Because of her career in the Fright Zone, and Shadow Weaver. So she boxed it up and tucked away under her hero complex, bending over backwards just to prove herself worthy of existing.
  * In a way, she did the same thing when she started developing feelings for Glimmer. She didn’t know that this was just her habit of things. She just did it. She couldn’t compromise her place here-- she was She-Ra, she had a job to focus on. Not to mention she still got suspicious glances from people because she was a horde soldier. If she messed up (either her job as She-Ra or by complicating things with Glimmer) she might be out of a home. So she boxed it up again. 
  * Bow, the only brain cell, knew that Glimmer had a crush on Adora from nights where she would pace in frustration, totally honest with him about it as she was with everything else. And he was no Sherlock, but he could tell that Adora felt something, even if Glimmer didn’t notice that. So, he conspired with Glimmer to help them get together. 
  * It was strange at first. Because Adora did still love Catra. But she was also nursing a growing love for the princes. Just reread the works in this series to learn more about that. Eventually they worked it out. Glimmer and Adora started dating. 
  * It proved to be healthy for both of them. They both became more careful, working together better in battle. Glimmer taught Adora about honesty and open communication, all things she learned from her relationship with a good best friend like Bow. This really helped Adora grow as a person and help her deal with her trauma. 
  * Eventually Catra comes to Bright Moon and Angella at this point just accepts the fact that she WILL keep adopting all these traumatized kids. This is like the third one so Renee is teasing her like “Your Majesty, _just how many rooms do you have in the castle to give to all the wayward children that come crawling out of the woods into the castle_ ” and Angella is just like “i KNOW, shut up.” because they can have that kind of fun relationship. 
  * But guess what? Glimmer is BIG GAY, like even bigger than any of us thought cause now she is in love with Adora AND has a crush on Catra. And Adora has of course, always loved Catra. 
  * So now all THREE of them are dating and also gay. And you know what? Gay love won the war. 
  * Just go read to works for the specifics from there on. No spoilers. ;) 



  
  


**Miscellaneous**

  * Scorpia’s kingdom of refugees eventually becomes the Kingdom of New Scorpiana, it’s capital is Safety. 
  * Domestic cats do not exist in Etheria. Wild cats, however, do. Catra and Adora do not know this, and everyone at Bright Moon is determined to keep it that way. This could break them. Few wild cats are ever seen hanging around human civilizations. They range in size from house cat in the whispering woods, to jaguars in the jungles, just as seen in The Jungle Incident. Most magicats have no uniform society (allegedly, since the fall of their kingdom) but they are seen as the odd traveler. They are usually gifted in magics, and they all know about cats. Just not Catra. 
  * All Magicats have subtle toe beans on their hands and feet. 
  * Perfuma has a twin brother. You know that Plumerian with no shirt and the pink paint on his chest? Yeah, that’s her brother Leaf. He’s not super important to the plot. I just thought it was weird that every princess is an only child. They look kinda alike, right?
  * Catra is actually a pretty good cook after she lived with Razz for so long. She likes cooking hearty meals for the bottomless pit of her jock girlfriend. It was quite a shock to Adora and Glimmer to find that she knew her way around the kitchen. Usually they have the castle staff cook for them, but on occasion Catra will get behind the stove and make something nice. She has tried to teach these skills to her girlfriends, but Adora just cannot cook with her impatience and lack of coordination and Glimmer really just likes desserts, something Catra does not especially specialize in. Bow also cooks, and sometimes they cook together and teach each other new things. 
  * Angella has only told the most sparing details about the nature of Glimmer and Catra and Adora’s relationship to Castaspella, because she _knows_ that if she knew more she would instantly start planning their wedding and that is the last thing that the girls should be bothered with. It’s too soon! It’ll make Adora anxious and Catra will get all flighty and Glimmer will argue. Best to avoid that for now. 
  * Catra will go to Razz’s hut every now and then for some alone time if she needs to think. Ever since Razz left, she sort of inherited the place, but still refuses to think of it as hers. Especially because she isn’t entirely sure if Razz is really gone or not. It could just be her imagination, but she could swear that every now and then, there are signs of living there. Not just anybody, but Razz’s habits. The way she would burn a candle all the way down and then resculpt the wax back up around a new wick to recycle it. The way that when Catra tidied the place up, it would get messed up again just like when Razz was looking for something. And, of course, the ever present new supply of fine wood shavings along the floor. Catra wondered if Razz was, as she always seemed to be mentally without realizing it, popping in and out of realities and timelines. It would give her hope, a little smile at the old witch’s ways, but she would never actually see Razz in person. Still, it kept Catra coming back to the hut, hoping for signs that proved that Razz would never really be fully gone. 
  * I love working on this series. But my personal favorite pieces in it so far are: Capital Punishment (You’re Grounded), The Wild Cat, An Idea and a Meeting, The Babysitter’s Club, Remember Me, The Ghost of Bright Moon, The Immigration, and Wish We Could Stay. There will be more to come, more stories of adventure and love after the war. 
  * I’m sorry I haven’t written basically anything lately. I’ve been working twelve hours a day seven days a week at my stupid job for the rush. I’ve also been considering taking up other projects. Hopefully, I do plan to one day return to writing and of course publishing it! Comment with ideas of what you want to see, or just give me validation that will supply me with enough energy to get through the day. Really hope I didn’t lose too many readers on my hiatus. I just love She-Ra. And writing. You know, I never get to brag about it, but did you guys know that I have a bachelors degree in Creative Writing from a highly ranked institution? Yeah, class of 2018. And this is what I’m doing with it. I’m valid. YOU’RE valid. EVERYONE is valid. Keep being good. 



  
  
  



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